Cardiff City head into Saturday's clash knowing anything other than a win will almost certainly end their play-off ambitions.

We spoke to Russell Slade about all of the key issues beforehand.

Here's what he had to say...

How is the injury situation ahead of Bolton?

There’s a few little injuries. We won’t know regarding a couple yet. There’s couple of strains and stresses. Bruno Manga will train. He had a light session yesterday and today, but this game is too early for him really. Aron Gunnarsson is out with his ankle and Fabio is out with his groin injury. Declan John had a hamstring problem, he was back in training, but picked up a knock in training. With Fabio and Gunnarsson it might be they are back maybe the last game of the season.

Aron Gunnarsson of Cardiff City rues a missed opportunity to win the QPR match in the final minutes

Have you thought about starting Kenneth Zohore?

He’s made me think for sure. That’s the impact we wanted from him at Brentford.. It was his best impact yet. He’s been in useful positions and not finished before. But we are pleased he managed to get a goal. It will give him confidence. You have to think about starting him, I’ve got injury concerns with one or two other.

You have two strikers on the bench, but none on the pitch to start. What are your thoughts on that?

Anthony Pilkington is our leading goal-scorer. So the flip side would be, why on earth are we are we not starting with players who’ve scored for us this season? Lex Immers has come in as a number ten and scored five in 12. Pilkington has scored eight. It’s important you have your players on the pitch who are capable of scoring goals. Craig Noone has six. If you are not careful, if you leave your best players out and start taking a look at Zohore and Saadi, who have one goal between them, there could be a problem. It’s important to have players at this stage on the pitch who have served you well in terms of getting goals. Zohore is only 21 and still getting used to it, but he is improving and that was reflected in his cameo at Brentford. He’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s getting closer and it remains to be seen if he starts against Bolton. He’s going the right way though. We are pleased with his progress.

Kenneth Zohore goes close in the last minute against Brentford (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

Sheffield Wednesday play Derby at 12.30pm tomorrow. Will that have an impact on your game with Bolton?

Not from my point of view or the players. We will be as professional as ever. We will go out and attempt to win our match, it has to be that way. You can’t control what is going on elsewhere. We’ve got a lot to make up, they’ve got a better goal difference, but I’m not starting a guessing game. We can’t base it on the back of the Sheffield result. There has to be common sense and a professional approach.

What are your play-off chances now?

Slim, but still possible. We are not in play-off form, that’s right, but you could say that about Ipswich, you could say that about Birmingham. You could say that about Sheffield Wednesday. None of us are in the form we would have wanted to hit. That’s why the door has been left open slightly. We must never give up. Whilst there’s an opportunity you have to see it as a challenge and try to seize it. We have to have belief and whilst it’s a possibility we have to search for points. It’s important we control what we can do, we have to do it against Bolton, to ensure we get back to winning ays. We have to take care of ourselves.

Carlos Carvalhal's men are hot favourites for sixth spot

Bolton are bottom, why do you struggle against the teams at the bottom end of the Championship?

It can happen, one or two others in the top-six have perhaps been disappointed by not getting results against some of the struggling teams. That’s the nature of the Championship, there are no easy fixtures. You would have expected Sheffield Wednesday to beat MK Dons last Tuesday, but it didn’t happen. You would have probably had that as a home banker. That is the Championship, there’s no easy games and Bolton will be no different. It’s going to be a very tough game.

Is what’s happened to Bolton a warning to other clubs? Bolton a warning to others?

It is a warning, yes. Bolton would have had a very competitive budget for this league. They spent many years in the Premier League. Now that there’s a takeover there’s an opportunity for them to rebuild, but unfortunately they are going to have to rebuild in League One. Which is probably not what they had planned for. Of course, it’s a warning. But how many times has that happened to? It’s happened to Wolves, to Nottingham Forest and to Leeds. It’s happened to really big clubs. They’ve not just dipped into the Championship, they’ve then gone down another level. We’ve avoided all that, we’ve avoided that massively. That was my job, of course, to stabilise and turn things around here. It’s also my job to appreciate the financial side of it as well. That’s played a big part since I’ve been here. No longer do we get the money we would have got in the Premier League and the payments now, as you know, get reduced accordingly every season.

Josh Vela in action was linked with a move to Cardiff before the transfer embargo struck in January

What’s happening with your contract?

That will be sorted at the end of the season one way or the other. We will sit down to resolve it then. It’s been quite busy. We have been focused elsewhere. There’s an open dialogue. It’s not bene disregarded. We are talking about it. It is a rare situation perhaps, but it’s private, so I’m not going into detail. Look, it’s helpful if we get in the play-offs and even more helpful if we go up. That’s all positives and we are trying to do that. I bet Sheffield Wednesday fans are not thinking it’s over. We want to go there with them under pressure.

If you are here next season how confident will you be you can finish in the top six?

Well, we’ve proved something, we’ve been challenging all season for the play-offs, that’s an indicator we are not too far away. If we are shrewd in the summer window, make a couple of good signings, we may not be too far away from the top six next time.

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Where do you need to strengthen?

We have to address the forward area. We lack some pace still somewhere as well. It remains to be seen in the summer, it’s a question too of hanging onto our better players. If we lost anyone they would need replacing. But the forward areas and pace and keeping our best players would be all part of keeping us competitive. We will assess if players are leaving in the summer. The first priority is to come out of the transfer embargo of course. Then we can operate freely. Then we see to what extent we can operate.

Are you still working on signing Lex Immers on a permanent deal?

We’ve got a good dialogue going there. We’ve met. It’s possible and we are making good progress at the minute, that’s all I can say now.

Lex Immers on the attack (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

What’s the situation with Ben Turner? He is out of contract in the summer.

He will play for the development side on Monday to get match minutes. He’s training and he’s gradually getting to speed. We are pleased for him. We’ve been taking it week-by-week with the injuries and, fingers crossed, there are no set-backs. I’ve warmed to him, he’s a great type, he’s a leader, he’s my kind of player. You want that sort in your dressing room.

Cardiff City star Ben Turner underwent major ankle surgery

Has Sammy Ameobi been a flop here?

Sammy Ameobi of Cardiff on the attack

An enigma is probably the best way to describe him. Sammy has fantastic ability, we watch him in training every day, but not always has he transferred that to the pitch. Occasionally he has, and you think, wow, why’s he not in the side, then within a week he goes out and performs and everyone says, that’s why he’s not in the side. It’s about consistency with Sammy. He has the ability.